Ads reading "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," is appearing on Washington buses and will be running through the month of December. My first thought, so? After all, this is a free country … people are entitled to believe the way they do.
Personally, I find it really sad that both Christians and non-Christians are unable to get along, specially during the Christmas season when there’s to be peace on earth and good will towards man regardless of one’s faith. The rhetoric, the finger pointing, the verbal attacks, the insults from both sides of the issue is so un-Christmas like, not to mention un-Christian like.
Over the years Christmas has become more of a commercial holiday than a celebration of our Lord’s birth. Now days we have Christmas in July. Christmas is on sale in October … Halloween, Santa, Christ? One hell of a combination wouldn’t you say? However, I do have to ask; who’s fault is it? It's YOURS and MINE! We’re the ones that have turned Christmas into a non-Christian commercial holiday. All the piranha frenzy that goes into gift buying and giving, going into debt just to make ourselves feel good as well as look good, conversations over who spent what and how much, kids loosing their tempers because you didn’t get what they wanted. I mean, we are the ones who’s at fault for all this … we have no one to blame but ourselves. We (Christian’s) have made Christmas what it is today and we have the nurve to point fingers at those who attack us and this holiday? All the other side is doing is mirroring back to us what we’ve become … commercial Christian Christmas consumers.
Personally, I believe in Christmas … it is the foundation upon which I build my faith. If there was no Christmas then there would be no Easter. If there’s no Easter then as individuals we would not have hope. Without hope then there is no purpose in our future. Therefore, the holy of holiest celebration is so significant in my life and I find it difficult to understand why it’s not in most circles of our society.
Yes, the gifts are nice ... who wouldn't want to have something to open either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? I sure do! But, lets be real! Christmas is not only about the gift or type of gift you receive or how much was spent on the gift ... Its about friendship and companionship. It's about coming together to celebrate our faith, our hopes, our dreams, our future, our lives in connection to our life hereafter.
Now, I have to agree that that there are those who are doing their best to rid the public square of all mentioning of Christmas. Christmas has become a political correctness issue. Merry Christmas has been replaced with Happy Holidays. The singing of religious Christmas songs are banned. Public displaying of Christmas symbols are forbidden. If things keep going the way they are a day may come when Christmas will be banned like it was back in early 1600’s. God help us if this ever happens again! I couldn’t imagine life without Christmas.
In my opinion, there are several ways in which we might handle the issue of political correctness and Christmas. First, America is still a free speech society … Say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. Secondly, with kindness and understanding help to bring Christmas back into the public square … Debating the issue will only divide. Thirdly, stop being part of the problem … Stop being a commercial Christmas Christian, just be Christ-like. Celebrate the holy of holiest holiday with your faith and not with your wallet. Remember, Christ was born in a Stable … the humblest of places. Thus, our celebration should reflect His humble beginnings. In other words, practice what we preach!
One last note, what really makes sense out of “be good for goodness sake” ain’t all that bad of a statement cause translated it could read; be good to others as you would want them to be good to you. After all, we reap what we sow and you don’t need religion to figure this out!
Merry Christmas!
Personally, I find it really sad that both Christians and non-Christians are unable to get along, specially during the Christmas season when there’s to be peace on earth and good will towards man regardless of one’s faith. The rhetoric, the finger pointing, the verbal attacks, the insults from both sides of the issue is so un-Christmas like, not to mention un-Christian like.
Over the years Christmas has become more of a commercial holiday than a celebration of our Lord’s birth. Now days we have Christmas in July. Christmas is on sale in October … Halloween, Santa, Christ? One hell of a combination wouldn’t you say? However, I do have to ask; who’s fault is it? It's YOURS and MINE! We’re the ones that have turned Christmas into a non-Christian commercial holiday. All the piranha frenzy that goes into gift buying and giving, going into debt just to make ourselves feel good as well as look good, conversations over who spent what and how much, kids loosing their tempers because you didn’t get what they wanted. I mean, we are the ones who’s at fault for all this … we have no one to blame but ourselves. We (Christian’s) have made Christmas what it is today and we have the nurve to point fingers at those who attack us and this holiday? All the other side is doing is mirroring back to us what we’ve become … commercial Christian Christmas consumers.
Personally, I believe in Christmas … it is the foundation upon which I build my faith. If there was no Christmas then there would be no Easter. If there’s no Easter then as individuals we would not have hope. Without hope then there is no purpose in our future. Therefore, the holy of holiest celebration is so significant in my life and I find it difficult to understand why it’s not in most circles of our society.
Yes, the gifts are nice ... who wouldn't want to have something to open either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? I sure do! But, lets be real! Christmas is not only about the gift or type of gift you receive or how much was spent on the gift ... Its about friendship and companionship. It's about coming together to celebrate our faith, our hopes, our dreams, our future, our lives in connection to our life hereafter.
Now, I have to agree that that there are those who are doing their best to rid the public square of all mentioning of Christmas. Christmas has become a political correctness issue. Merry Christmas has been replaced with Happy Holidays. The singing of religious Christmas songs are banned. Public displaying of Christmas symbols are forbidden. If things keep going the way they are a day may come when Christmas will be banned like it was back in early 1600’s. God help us if this ever happens again! I couldn’t imagine life without Christmas.
In my opinion, there are several ways in which we might handle the issue of political correctness and Christmas. First, America is still a free speech society … Say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. Secondly, with kindness and understanding help to bring Christmas back into the public square … Debating the issue will only divide. Thirdly, stop being part of the problem … Stop being a commercial Christmas Christian, just be Christ-like. Celebrate the holy of holiest holiday with your faith and not with your wallet. Remember, Christ was born in a Stable … the humblest of places. Thus, our celebration should reflect His humble beginnings. In other words, practice what we preach!
One last note, what really makes sense out of “be good for goodness sake” ain’t all that bad of a statement cause translated it could read; be good to others as you would want them to be good to you. After all, we reap what we sow and you don’t need religion to figure this out!
Merry Christmas!